Medlar Festival in Calatabiano

The medlar festival in Calatabiano is held every year in the characteristic village of Alcantara river park, in the province of Catania. It is an event organized by the municipal administration to enhance the excellence of the local medlar and promote the many typical products, not only from agriculture but also from the colorful and characteristic Sicilian craftsmanship.

The territory, due to its specific peculiarities, especially climatic, is perfect for the cultivation of medlar, an extraordinary fruit that comes from the East and which has found an ideal habitat in southern Italy and Sicily.

The Municipality of Calatabiano is known for the quantity (over eight hundred tons of medlars harvested each year) and, above all, the quality of its extraordinary medlars grown in two varieties: vanilla, with a sweet and slightly acidic taste, and medlar (or giant medlar of Calatabiano) which are characterized by the considerable size of the fruit.

The medlar festival in Calatabiano sublimates tradition and enhances it by mixing it with innovation.

From the union between ancient and modern, exquisite culinary creations are born which, during the event, tickle the taste buds of the visitors. A festive and colorful occasion to promote the territory, its agricultural products and their transformation activities.

The history of the medlar festival

The medlar is the fruit of the Japanese medlar (Eriobotrya japonica), introduced in Italy in 1812 as an ornamental plant in thebotanical garden of Naples. Due to its particular characteristics (it flowers in autumn), the Japanese medlar tree needs a particularly mild climate to bear fruit.

In Italy it is widespread everywhere, but in the north, due to the lack of climatic conditions necessary for fruiting, it is present only as an ornamental plant. In the southern regions, the medlar tree produces sweet and juicy fruits and, in particular, in Calatabiano, the production is distinguished by the extraordinary quality and size of the medlars.

The area of ​​Calatabiano, together with the territory of another Sicilian municipality, Trabia, is the only place in Italy where medlar honey, a valuable and niche product, is produced in extremely limited quantities. The medlar is the basis of the agricultural economy of Calatabiano.

Its cultivation makes the Catania village home to a unique production of excellence in Italy. For this reason, the municipal administration, decades ago, decided to dedicate a celebratory and promotional event to her on a regular basis.

The first edition of the festival was held in 1984 to celebrate and promote the richness of agricultural production in this area and the extraordinary nature of the medlars grown in the area.

The appointment is punctually repeated every year to enhance the agricultural, culinary and folkloric traditions of the place.

During the medlar festival in Calatabiano the Golden medlar, prize awarded to personalities who have distinguished themselves during the year in the cultivation or promotion of the local medlar and the products deriving from it.

When the medlar festival takes place

The medlar festival in Calatabiano takes place every year on the second Saturday and second Sunday of May.
The initiative serves as a tasty advance of the party St. Philip the Syriac held the following weekend.

Where the medlar festival takes place

The medlar festival takes place in Calatabiano, in the province of Catania. The inhabited center is located close to the Alcantara river and its territory extends from the sea to the last ramifications of the valley.

The landscape is mainly rural with lush orchards that reach the wide and sandy beach of the village. On the hills, which rise above the Alcantara valley, stands an ancient medieval castle.

What to do during the Medlar Festival in Calatabiano

During the Festival, the entire historical center of Calatabiano is destined to a pedestrian area in order to guarantee the carrying out of the event in total tranquility and safety. There are numerous food and wine stands dedicated to typical, local and regional agricultural and culinary products.

The medlar is, however, the queen of the event.

It can be tasted plain, served in pretty traditional baskets decorated with medlar leaves, or as an ingredient in delicious desserts.
Do not miss the tart with medlar jam. Among the delicacies, to be tasted absolutely, slushes, ice creams and the famous nespolino, a delicious liqueur that is produced with medlar pits left to infuse in alcohol for over a month.

Musical and cultural events enrich the festival pleasantly entertaining the many visitors. Colorful stalls display Sicilian handicrafts. There are also interesting show cooking with live demonstrations by famous chefs.

Wandering around the stands and stalls, it is advisable to take a break to visit the mother church which houses a unique work of its kind: a precious wooden crucifix painted by the master Giovanni Salvo d'Antonio, nephew of the more famous Antonello da Messina.

The medlar festival can be an opportunity to visit the medieval castle , Church of SS. Crucifix nearby along the same road that every year, the week following the festival, the bearers of San Filippo travel along, first downhill and then uphill (the calata and the acchianata). The castle is surrounded by the ruins that remain of the first settlement of Calatabiano and the fortified walls that surrounded it.

Recommended activities for a tour of the Alcantara Gorges

How to get to Calatabiano

By car, from Catania, from the A18 motorway (Messina-Catania), exit at Fiumefreddo. Continue on state road 114 following the signs for Calatabiano. From Messina, still on the A18, exit at Giardini Naxos and continue on the SS. 114 towards Catania.

By bus from Catania or Messina with the Autelinea Interbus which have a transit stop in the Pasteria hamlet; from Taormina with the Buda bus lines which stop directly in the town centre.

By train, the regional trains of the Catania-Syracuse line stop at the Calatabiano Centrale station.

By plane, the local airport is Catania.